


Train Wreck

by Joy4Joy



Series: Tim Travels Around the Universes [1]
Category: DCU, Red Robin (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Feels, BAMF Tim Drake, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Bruce Wayne hates his other self, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, But it's okay, Cass loves her brother more than anything, Cause this universe's Bruce is a good parent, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Sibling Tim Drake, He gets it, He just has to accept that fact, He's gonna protect this little genius with his life, Hurt Tim Drake, Jason Todd is Not Red Hood, Jason Todd is Robin, Jason Todd is a Batfamily Member, Nobody is happy with the way other universe Batfamily treated him, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Jason Todd, She wants him to be happy, Steph might be catching feelings for the guy from another universe., The Batfamily is extremely protective of Tim, Tim Drake Angst, Tim Drake Deserves Better, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Mental Health Issues, Tim Drake Needs Love, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake is Not Okay, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim Drake is So Done, Tim Drake is from a different universe, Tim Drake-centric, Tim finally gets the love he deserves, Tim isn't alone anymore, badass tim drake, she is not happy about it, with a passion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29886489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joy4Joy/pseuds/Joy4Joy
Summary: Tim Drake is dead. Tim Drake is dead, but not really.Because he was sent to another universe instead.Or: Timothy Drake is found by an alternate version of his friends and family, and they are all very angry about how he was treated. And more than a little bit heartbroken.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Bart Allen & Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Cassie Sandsmark, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Tim Drake & Members of the Team (Young Justice)
Series: Tim Travels Around the Universes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204064
Comments: 28
Kudos: 226
Collections: All My Bookmarks





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Liminal Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016809) by [Calamityjim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamityjim/pseuds/Calamityjim). 
  * Inspired by [It's Called: Freefall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27584123) by [Kgraces](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kgraces/pseuds/Kgraces). 
  * Inspired by [Hush Little Robin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762851) by [AshWinterGray](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray). 



The days have been passing slowly, painfully. 

It's been a month and a half sense he heard from his family, a month and a half sense he brought Bruce home.

Did they even realize that he hadn't contacted them? Had they even blinked when he didn't show up for family dinner on Sundays, or when he hadn't logged a report into the Batcomputer in days?

Would they ever?

He felt... empty. Is emptiness even a feeling? Well, it is now, because that's what Tim was feeling, that was the only way to describe it. Steph, Kon, Bart. They were gone. The love of his life and his two best friends were dead. Bruce was back, but it was no different then from before. 

Except now, Tim wasn't Robin. He was Red Robin. 

And Red Robin doesn't belong with the bats. His family had made sure he knew that. 

His _family_. God, could they even be called that? Hadn't he been nothing more than a _soldier_ to them? A _placeholder, replacement, pretender_... Why? Why did he love them? It's obvious the feeling wasn't mutual. 

Bruce had treated him like nothing more than a soldier. Sending him home to that awful, cold, empty home each night _without so much as a question_ as to where his parents were. Treating him like trash, sending him into _multiple_ panic attacks, all of which were just to _test_ his abilities. To Bruce, Tim was nothing more than a toy to be used for his own purposes.

Dick. He had thought Dick was his older brother, that he would stand beside him _no matter what_. He wasn't expecting him to fire him from Robin. To give the only thing Tim had left to the person who had tried to kill him on numerous occasions. He didn't think that Dick wouldn't even bother to tell him, but by the time he'd tried, it was too late. And then he suggested Arkham. Because Tim was _crazy_ for thinking Bruce was alive even though HE HAD PROOF. So crazy, in fact, that the only possible solution was to send Tim to the jail where all the insane, murderous, villains of Gotham resided. Arkham. And then, not even an apology when Tim turned out to be right. Dick betrayed him, making him believe he was actually loved, only to pull it all away the second Tim got truly comfortable. 

Then his _Robin_ , the boy who inspired Tim, the boy who made Tim want to keep living, keep moving, keep fighting. Jason Todd. The Red Hood, who came back to life and tried to kill him. In _Titans Tower_ , his safe-haven. Jason Todd who called him 'Replacement' and hated Tim with every fiber of his _being_. His Robin hated him. And all Tim did was try to keep his legacy going.

And Damian. God, Damian. Tim had been so excited to learn he'd gotten a little brother. Tim had always wanted a little brother, someone to pass his knowledge onto, and to be there for when things got tough. Tim had wanted, so badly, to be able to teach Damian all he knew about being Robin, he wanted to be the first Robin to be able to pass down the mask by _choice._ But then Damian also tried to kill him. And nobody cared. _'He's just a child, Timmy.' 'Don't take it to heart, Tim. He's still learning. Give him time.'_ So Tim tried. He tried to ignore the taunts, the mean words, the painful glares, the murder attempts. It didn't matter, in the end. Tim wouldn't pass on the mantle, Dick had made that choice for him. 

So, why then? Why did he care about them so much?

( _Because they gave you more attention then your parents did. Why couldn't that have been enough?)_ Inner Tim was right. Why couldn't that be enough? It was no wonder everyone hated him. He just kept asking for more and _taking and taking and taking_. No fucking wonder. 

A familiar noise reached his ears.

An alert. 

There was an Arkham breakout. 

_Again._

* * *

To be fair, Tim really should have known better than to go after Two-Face on his own. 

But also, to be fair, nobody else was able to do it, and Two-Face needed to be taken down, and _soon._

However, to be fair, he really should have seen the strike, should have blocked it and taken the knife to his thigh instead of his neck. 

Its times like these that Tim wished Steph and Cass were close enough to help. But, you know, one was dead and the other was across the ocean.

At least he'd be joining Steph soon, though. Kon and Bart would be there too. 

He'd finally be at peace. 

* * *

It was around 30 minutes before the rest of the Batfamily finished locking up all of the Arkham escapees, and another 45 before they were able to find Tim.

By then, it was too late. 

He was already dead. 

* * *

Remember when Tim died? 

Yeah, he did too.

So why the hell was he standing there, a scar where the knife had slit his throat, looking at a brunette girl with WINGS? 

Seriously, what the fuck?

"Tim! Hiiiiii!" the woman said. "My name is Dealla. I am your Guardian Angel."

Tim blinked. And blinked again. Guardian Angel? What?

"Okay, so I know what you're thinking, but I'm kind of bad at this so I don't really know how to explain? But I'll try my best, just try to listen carefully, okay?!" Dealla was like a puppy who got a new chew toy, jumping up and down and grinning with excitement. 

Never before in his life has Tim been so confused.

"I guess I should start from the beginning, right? Okay, so you weren't actually supposed to be in this Universe. The Boss accidentally mixed up you with other you and so now we have to deal with the repercussions of that. Turns out, you had such a terrible life in this Universe because you don't belong here. Other you also had a bad time, but he died a long time ago, and since you didn't die as well, he wasn't able to move into his real Universe and vice versa. Boss says that he and the Upper Angels didn't realize what had happened until other you -lets call him OT- died. By then, it was too late. We had to wait until you died to fix what we did. Well, kind of. OT won't be able to go back to his world -the one you were on- because of how much of an impact you made. However, you will be able to go back. All you have to do is say yes." 

What. 

The. 

Fucking.

Hell.

"Uh...?" Tim was so confused. He was from a different Universe? But was born in the wrong one? So now he had to go back?

So much for peace. 

Dealla grinned, coming closer to him. 

"Do you want to? Go back I mean? You'll be able to keep all of your memories and everything. Boss says that you should at least remember what happened. The only part you won't remember is this part."

And wasn't it strange how conflicted he was?

He didn't want to go back, back to the life he had. Back to the pain, and neglect, and living without any real love. 

But, then again, he wasn't ready to be dead. Tim didn't know what it was, but something about declining the chance to live again just didn't sit right with him. 

Because, what if Damian was still with the League? What if Batman had become a murderer after Jason's death? 

He couldn't chance it. He had to make sure they were okay. 

It was his job in this Universe, afterall. He was the one that held the family together when they couldn't do it themselves. 

It would only make sense that that was his role in the other Universe as well. 

"I... accept your offer. I will go back to the other Universe."

Dealla clapped, grinning happily. "Oh, goody! Let's send you now."

She waved her hands and Tim's body began to smoke. Before he could completely disappear, he heard Dealla say one last thing.

"You'll finally get the love you deserve. I'm sorry you didn't get it sooner."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tiiiiiim!!" Bart cheered. "You're finally here! What took you so long, I've been waiting FOREVER!!!!"

Tim's head was throbbing when he woke up. In fact, everything was throbbing. It felt like he'd been dropped from fifty feet in the air and hit every tree on the way down.

He winced and brought his hand to his head to try and massage the pain away, groaning slightly as he did so. 

At least, he tried to. It was apparently hard to do that when your wrists were bound.

That was what really woke Tim up. He was so stupid! How could he not take inventory of where he was immediately after he woke up? Batman would be ashamed. He couldn't fail Batman, he couldn't loose the last thing in his life that is even a little bit okay. 

Okay, okay, don't freak out. Use your senses, use your head. _What are you laying on?_

A bed, comfortable. Feels like the medbeds in the Cave and Titans Tower. There's a blanket covering him, lightweight, not meant to put pressure on his body. 

_What does it smell like?_

Antiseptic. It's clean, strong. But also a faint smell of moss and dew, the air is dry. Like an underground area. Maybe a mountain, or a cave?

_What can you feel?_

Chains. Around his both his ankles and his wrists. But not to tight, not enough to cut off circulation. Just enough to keep him from moving his hands and feet more that a half inch. The pillow, soft, bouncy. Good support on the neck and back. 

_What can you hear?_

Beeping, a heart monitor. Faint sound of running water. As well as someone talking in the distance. No, not some _one_. Some _people_. Arguing, confused. They didn't know what was going on. Well, at least he wasn't the only one. 

_Finally, what can you see?_

An open space. He was on one bed of many, in what seemed to be a medical room. Not the Cave's, not the Tower's. Not the Watchtower's, not the Clocktower's. There was an IV in his arm, drugged. Trying to keep him asleep. 

Jokes on them, he'd long since created a tolerance for any drug that could put him asleep.

And he was still in his suit. 

These idiots left him in his suit. 

Well, actions have consequences. They should have known better than to leave Red Robin with his gear. 

It was possible that they were simply unable to get him out. He did have an extreme security on his suit. Only the people who he'd told knew how to get out of his shit without harm of any kind. Of course, half of them were dead. 

Nevertheless, he still had an advantage. He could pick the locks, find his Bo-staff, and get out of here. 

"I wouldn't try it, if I were you."

That... That was a voice. A familiar voice. 

Crap. 

Mentally groaning, Tim turned his head to see the group that had been arguing before were now all focused on him. 

With quite a few familiar people in the front. 

What the fuck? Why were Nightwing and Robin staring at him like that? Why was Jason still Robin, even though he was obviously much older than 15? Why was Jon alive and glaring at him? 

Had he done something? Was he in the past? No, not the past. Jason was never Robin again after 15. A... Different universe maybe? 

What was the last thing he remembered?

(Fighting, blood, two-face henchmen appearing out of nowhere, slitting his throat. Dying, and then... Gray.)

Holy shit. 

Why wasn't he dead? If this was another Universe, then how did he get there? Would he be able to go back to his own? No, he couldn't. In his world, he was dead. Gone. They'd be better off without him. Bruce wouldn't chose to out him in the Lazarus Pit, wouldn't chance it. He was already worried Tim would go evil, why would he enable that? 

Answer: he wouldn't. 

So Tim was stuck here. 

Great. That's just bloody fantastic. 

Might as well have some fun though. 

* * *

It started off as a normal enough day, and that should have been the first warning sign. 

Nightwing had decided, due to some issues the team had been having at being covert, that today would be a big training day (although when Nightwing was Robin the team wasn't _any_ better. Dick had slapped Jason's shoulder when he'd pointed that out.)

And when Nightwing says "training" he really means "death trap hide and go seek." 

It was insane. Half the team would be the bad guys and everyone else would be good guys. The good guys had to search and take down all the bad guys, all while not being caught by the rest. If a bad guy found you first then a battle would begin, but to the bad guy's favor, which basically meant that one of your advantages was taken away. If the good guys managed to take down all the bad guys, they won. If not, they would do the whole training all over again. 

What really sucked was that Nightwing was prone to put people who didn't work well together on the same team. 

So, there Jason was, crouched in the vents, watching the "bad guys" argue. Superboy and Lagaan couldn't seem to agree on what to do. Even after years of working together, they still hated each other. It was crazy. 

He'd just about had enough of their fighting and was thinking about just jumping down to begin a duel when the alarms began to blare. 

Alarms that only sounded when an intruder had entered the cave without permission. That is the definition of intruder, after all. 

"Training room. Now." Nightwing said into the com in Jason's ear. 

The game was immediately forgotten, Jason dropping down to land in a crouch beside his anger-prone teammates. 

The three of them silently crept out of the room, heading towards the training room. 

When they reached the familiar place, they found most of their teammates gathered around the floor. The only person who wasn't there was Bart, but that was understandable because he was spending time with his family. 

"Put the Mountain on full lockdown." Nightwing was telling Jaime. "We don't know how powerful he is, and until we do, we can't chance him escaping." 

"What's happening? Who is that?" Jason asked, racing over. 

Nightwing sighed in frustration. "I have no idea. I've never seen him before, and their isn't any facial recognition in the superhero or villain teams. He's a ghost! I've never seen anything like this before since..." He trailed off, and Jason could see the gears turning in his head. 

"Someone contact Kid Flash. Get him over here before the lock down is finished. Blue Beetle, leave one entrance open." Nightwing ordered, picking up the boy in the costume up. "Until then, we'll put him in the Medical room. You can learn a lot about someone just by their scars alone." 

. 

15 minutes later, the two Bats walked out of the Med Bay. Nightwing looked absolutely heartbroken and Robin was absolutely shocked. The rest of team watched their reactions in confusion, not understanding what exactly was wrong.

Bart still hadn't arrived yet. Something had happened with the twins, so he was staying to make sure everything was okay before heading over. The team had understood. If something happened to Bart's dad and aunt, something happened to Bart. They couldn't chance it. 

But until then, the team would tread very carefully with the bed-ridden boy. They couldn't really do anything yet anyway. He was unconscious. 

"What's wrong?" M'gann asked, stepping forward slightly. 

Nightwing stayed silent, but Robin practically exploded. 

"What's wrong? _What's wrong_?! The dude's suit is practically a _mind_ of its own! There's no way we're getting off. Right, okay, so what do you do if you can't take a suit off? You do x-rays. And what do those X-rays show? They show a malnourished teenager who's missing a _spleen_. A full, whole, spleen! How do you even loose a spleen?! _Especially_ when you have a suit like _his_?!?!" 

The team blinked in shock. That was... A whole bunch of information in a very short amount of time. All told by yelling. 

Damn. 

Connor froze for a minor before turning towards the door of the Med Bay. "He's waking up."

At Connor's words, the whole team quickly made their way inside the room, Nightwing and Robin pushed at the front. 

"How is he even awake? That IV was supposed to keep him unconscious for another hour or so!" Jason hissed. 

Nobody knew how to answer. 

The boy on the med bed was small, smaller then everyone there, at least. His suit his most of his body, but they could still see how skinny he probably was. He had on a mask similar to Robin's, and long black hair sticking to his face. 

The team watched as the boy let out a small, almost silent, whimper and tried to lift his hand only to freeze when it was stopped by the cuffs. 

His fingers twitched and he seemed to huff in what Jason took as amusement. 

"I wouldn't try it, if I were you." Nightwing spoke up, noticing how the boy was starting to make the movements that would no doubt help him escape. 

The boy turned towards them, his mouth parting in shock. 

"Well, you didn't exactly give a guy a lot of choices. Waking up chained to a bed isn't exactly my idea of fun, _Richard_." The boy quipped back. 

Okay, that was just unexpected. 

The mood of the room changed immediately from wary/confused to pure anger and suspicion. 

"How do you know his name?" Jason snarled, stepping forward. 

The boy quirked an eyebrow. "Other than the fact that you just proved it? I know who all of you are." 

Before anybody could react, someone had the boy in a hug. 

"Tiiiiiim!!" Bart cheered. "You're finally here! What took you so long, I've been waiting FOREVER!!!!" 

* * *

Tim was extremely proud as he watched them squirm. Their faces were priceless! Oh wow, he should do this more often. It's a lot of fun. 

"How do you know his name?" Jason snarled, stepping forward in what Tim assumed was supposed to be intimidating. 

It really wasn't. "Other than the fact that you just proved it? I know who all of you are." 

Dick looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, the air had left Tim's lungs and a heavy weight was in his lap, wrapping their arms around him. 

"Tiiiiiim!!" Bart cheered. "You're finally here! What took you so long, I've been waiting FOREVER!!!!" 

Oh right. Time travel. Of course Bart knew about him coming here. Of course. 

Tim awkwardly patted his back, his heart heavy at just how much this Bart was like his own. 

Maybe if Kon and Bart were still alive then he wouldn't be dead. 

"Don't worry, guys! Tim won't hurt us! And even if he did, we wouldn't be able to stop him. He's totally crash!" Bart chirped, looking over at his team. 

Tim blinked in surprise. Alright so future him had obviously earned Bart's trust. 

"What the fuck is going on? Oracle is very angry that you went into lockdown without telling her what was wrong and she sent _me_ as backup." Another very familiar voice asked. The voice that he hadn't heard in years after her death. 

Tim broke. 


	3. Chapter 3

"The Mountain has gone into lockdown. They left one door open." Barbara said from her computer as she hurriedly typed away at the keyboard. 

"What?" Stephanie asked, leaving her poor waffle at the table when she hurried over to stand behind Babs. 

"Intruder Protocol. I'm not sure why they left a door open, though." Babs continued, pulling up the cameras to the team's headquarters. 

It looked like a normal day, the team training for most of the morning. Then, at 11:26 AM, the cameras became faulty, before cutting off completely a few seconds later. 

"You know, this is exactly what happened when you appeared." 

Only two superheros in the entire Universe knew about how Steph came into the game. Everyone else thought Barbara had found her using some advanced moves to save civilians from a gang war. In actuality, Babs had met Steph a week before, when she appeared in her living room. 

It took a few days for the redhead to trust her, but eventually, Babs realized that Steph's story checked out. They decided to keep quiet about it, because every superhero is paranoid and the fact that you can travel between universes should definitely not be told to the villains. 

It wasn't until a few months later, when Bart arrived from the future, that someone else found out. 

Bart seemed to know how important it was to keep this secret, because he never mentioned it until he and the girls were alone. 

It was then that they realized Steph was in this Universe for one reason, and that reason had yet to arrive.

Until now. 

"You think...?" Steph trailed off, a hint of hope in her voice. 

Babs smiled warmly at the girl she saw as a younger sister. "Yeah. Head to the mountain. Try to explain what's going on to Tim before the Bats can start to question him. We'll need to figure out a cover story."

* * *

When Steph arrived, she found all of the mountain's occupants crowding inside of the Medical Room. That must be where Tim was. She should above expected him to arrive hurt. This was Timothy Drake, the Robin with no self sufficient abilities, after all.

When she got to the entrance to the room, she heard Bart shout, "Don't worry, guys! Tim won't hurt us! And even if he did, we wouldn't be able to stop him. He's totally crash!"

Which, yeah, they definitely would not be able to stop Tim if he really got going. That was just who Tim was. 

Steph decided to make her entrance dramatic and awesome, because, why not? Tim got to do that when he arrived. It's her turn. 

"What the fuck is going on? Oracle is very angry that you went into lockdown without telling her what was wrong and she sent me as backup."

Steph pushed forward in the room and then she saw him. 

_Tim_. Her ex boyfriend. 

The boy she could never really move on from. 

He's here. Now. 

And oh, _God_ , she wasn't ready for this. 

She couldn't do this, couldn't see _him_. 

She wasn't prepared enough, wasn't prepared for all the _feelings_ and _suppressed memories_ to all come back in a rush and oh wow why wasn't she _ready_? 

She felt like vomiting. She couldn't do this. Couldn't face him. She _wasn't ready._

"Ummm... I see your busy. I'll go tell Oracle. Steph all but ran from the room. 

When she arrived back at the Clocktower, she broke down in tears. 

Barbara didn't ask questions, probably watched the whole thing from her cameras. She just wrapped her arms around the heartbroken girl and held her as she sobbed. 

_She wasn't ready_. 

* * *

Bart felt Tim tense up when he heard Steph's voice and a feeling of dread filled his stomach. 

In Bart's opinion, Steph and Tim were soulmates. 

What other reason could cause Steph to arrive in this universe, only a few years before Tim would? They were meant to be together, in life and death. 

In this case, "death" meant another universe. 

But Tim didn't know that the Steph that just arrived was also his Steph from the other universe. 

Bart could only imagine what Tim was feeling right now. 

According to future Tim, his two best friends _who were dead_ in his universe, and his girlfriend, _who was also dead_ , were alive and well in this Universe. Not to mention the fact that his hero and older brother, _Jason Todd_ , was still Robin and had never died. 

He must be going insane. 

And it didn't help that Dick was going to start interrogating him as soon as Tim woke up. 

No wonder future Tim is the way he is. 

"Ummm... I see your busy. I'll go tell Oracle." Steph said. Bart watched in confusion as she turned and left the room quickly. 

Steph knew that this was her Tim. Why was she reacting like that?

That's a problem for later. Right now, Tim is cracking and about to go into his version of a panic attack. 

Which is to say, suppress all emotions until he was alone and could break down privately without judgement. 

Bart would have to fix that too. 

"I bet you're hungry, right?! It's a long trip from where you're from! I'll bring you some food!!" 

Bart was back in 14 seconds on the dot, loaded down with Chinese. 

He placed the food next to Tim and proceeded to watch with the eyes of a hawk as Tim slowly sniffed the food. 

Freaking Tim and his inability to trust people without expecting them to only use him. 

Fuck Tim's universe. They messed him up so badly! Bart was going to send it up in flames if they tried to get Tim back. 

Bart looked away from Tim when the older boy finally began to eat. Now, he had to do damage control. 

Alrighty then, time to get this over with. 

* * *

Steph had left just as quickly as she came and Tim could feel his heart shattering with every step she took away. She was leaving him. 

Again.

Bart had brought food. He wasn't hungry, but Bart was watching him. 

He couldn't disappoint his best friend. 

Not again. 

Tim watched as Bart all but forced this Universe's versions of his friends and family out of the room. 

His mind was reeling from the last few minutes, filled with memories he didn't want to think about. 

His first kiss with Steph. 

Their first date. 

Bart and Kon and Steph, all dying too _young_. Too _soon_. 

It hurt. It hurt so badly. Steph was alive. She was healthy. 

Would he have to watch this Steph die? Bart, Kon, Jason? 

He didn't want to. He wasn't going to be able too. 

He'd rather die then watch them all die again. 

Why did fate send him here? _Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why?_

Why did they have to leave him? Alone, forgotten. 

And this Universe was just plain mean. 

Showing him his best friends, alive and perfectly fine. Steph, just as dramatic as ever. Jason, still Robin and his happy self. Dick, the best older brother one could possibly have. A team of young heroes, one that Tim wasn't apart of.

Would he ever really belong anywhere? 

No. He didn't think so. There's just been to many signs from both of the Universes he'd spent time in. 

But maybe... 

Maybe he could prove himself useful here? 

If he was useful, if he worked hard and helped everyone who needed him, maybe they'd let him stay. 

If he followed instructions, listened go what they told him to do and did it effectively and efficiently. 

Maybe it could work. 

It was worth a try.

* * *

"Traitor!" Lagaan shouted, pushing Bart against the wall. 

"Lagaan, stop!" Dick ordered, throwing the Atlantian off the ginger haired speedster. "We don't attack teammates!" 

Lagaan snarled. "He's a traitor! Was I the only one who saw him interacting with the _enemy_??"

Dick sighed, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. 

"Bart, is there a reasonable explanation for your actions?" he asked. 

Bart grinned, jumping up and down excitedly. "I know Tim from the future! He's totally crash and like, _reallyreallyreallyreally_ smart! Like, soooooo smart!" 

"If Tim is from the future, how is he here now? I thought you were the only one who knew how to travel to the past." Cassie asked. 

"Oh, Tim isn't from the future. When I met him, he was like, old. _Really_ old. Now, he's a teen. If he came from the future, he'd have been old." Bart explained. 

"So... Where's he from then?" Jason asked. 

"That's easy! He's from another universe! Crash, right?!" 

The team froze, their minds trying to acknowledge what they were just told. 

"What the fuck? He's from another _universe_?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, maybe I should explain?
> 
> Okay, so you know how Steph dies? Yeah, well, instead of "coming back to life" she instead is actually dead.   
> And in another universe.   
> The universe that Tim had just arrived in. 
> 
> Only three people know Steph isn't who she says she is; Steph, Babs, and Bart. 
> 
> In this universe, Stephanie Brown never existed. Her parents never got together, so she was never born. 
> 
> You'll find out just what has happened in this universe later, but until then, I'll give you some questions to ask yourself as you read. 
> 
> Why is Jason Robin?  
> How did this Universe's Tim die?   
> Why was Steph in this universe?
> 
> Oh yeah, virtual high fives to anyone who guessed that the voice that made Tim break was Steph. 
> 
> Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole buncha questions, answers, and dialogue. Kind of short, but this chapter is a little bit happier than the others. I figured you might need some relief.

Dick's emotions would just _not stand still_ long enough for him to focus. They were changing from confusion, anger, sadness, shock, exasperated, and annoyance. He could not control the situation if he couldn't make sense of it, and he couldn't make sense of it if his brain wouldn't just PICK A DAMN EMOTION. 

After Bart had dropped the bomb that this kid -Tim- was from a different universe, he'd shut his mouth and hadn't said _a single_ word since. Instead, he'd spouted some nonsense about how _Tim needed him to make sure he was eating_ , and disappeared into the Med Bay, leaving Dick to try and calm everyone down.

Why did he want to lead a group of teenagers again? Someone _really_ should have talked him out of this. 

So what could he do except call Babs down here and ask for her help? If anyone would know something about this, it would be her. Especially with the way Steph had reacted to seeing the kid. That was just a whole new level of suspicious. 

Until she arrived, however, he needed to somehow stop everyone from murdering Bart. That was going to be extremely difficult, seeing as how Dick had wanted to do the same thing to the speedster after he disappeared. 

Teenagers. Why, why, why did he agree to lead _teenagers_?

* * *

"..."

"...?"

"..."

".....Tim?"

"..."

"Timmy?"

"..."

"Timbo?"

"..."

"...Red?"

"..."

"Are you...Okay?"

"..."

"..Tim?"

"Hmm?" Tim asked, finally looking away from the spot on the wall he'd been staring at for the last few minutes. 

Bart was sitting next to him, not bothering to hide his worry. If there was one thing he'd learned from future Tim, it was that he hated pity, but had never had someone really care for him. One way to show you cared was to worry, so Bart worried outwardly and inwardly. 

"ImeanIknowyouaren'treallyokay, butyou'vebeenstaringatthatwallforlikeforeverandit'sgettingal _ittlescary_ becauseyouhaven'tevenblinkedandso _areyouokay_?"

Tim blinked at him, nodding slowly. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay." It would never cease to amaze him that Tim understood him perfectly. He must have spent a lot of time with a speedster.

"Just... surprised, I guess." Which, yeah, that makes sense. Bart would be pretty surprised too if he found out that his girlfriend is from his universe and came here when she died.

"Is she... Are you sure? Like, absolutely positive?" Tim asked, unable to keep the pure hope out of his voice. 

Bart grinned. "Yeah. Stephanie Brown is 100% from your universe. There is no daughter, or son for that matter, of Cluemaster here." 

Tim let out a laugh. A laugh that put all of his emotions on full display. Hope, love, sadness, surprise, relief, joy. It was a laugh that Bart had never heard from Tim before. It was... refreshing. 

"I just don't understand why she ran out. I mean, she knows you're _you_." Bart said, tapping his chin and tilting his head. 

Tim shook his head with a fond smile. "Unless Steph changed drastically when she came here, then that reaction would make sense. She is a Bat, afterall. We don't exactly have good coping skills. Well, except for maybe Dick, and even then its iffy." 

"That... actually adds up. Wow." 

"Okay, so what about Jason? How is he still alive?" Tim asked, moving on to his next question.

"Hmm, well I think it was just one of those things, ya know? Like, Robin told Alfred about his birth mom and stuff, so when Jason disappeared, Alfred told Batman and then it was pretty much research from there? From what Rob told me, Bats arrived just in time to pull him out of the warehouse." 

Tim nodded. "That's good. Jason definitely didn't deserve what happened to him." 

Bart huffed in agreement. 

Tim hesitated before he continued. "Just... Just one last question." 

"Ask away." 

"What... What happened to me? The me in this universe?" Tim asked, though it looked like he already knew the answer.

Before Bart could answer, a knock came at the door and Cassie stuck her head in. 

"Um... Hi, Bart... Tim... Um, Oracle is here and she wants you both out here. She said you'd better... come willingly or she'd drag you out by your ears?" 

Bart had never seen Tim get up so fast.

* * *

When Babs arrived the entire mood of the mountain's occupants _changed_. They all sighed in relief and Steph had to give the older girl props. Only very powerful people could calm down a whole bunch of superhumans with just their presence. Steph would hate to see what would happen if Oracle wasn't on their side. 

Total death and destruction, though that much was obvious. 

"Wonder-girl, go grab Bart and our guest. Tell them that if they don't come willingly I will drag them out by their ears." Barbara ordered, rolling over to sit in front of the team. Steph giggled. Babs had learned all about how terrifying she was in Stephanie's universe. She was certainly using that knowledge to her advantage. Babs is what Steph aspired to be when she grew up, as impossible a feat as that was. 

"Right." Cassie replied, running over to the room.

"I take it you know something about this?" Dick asked. Steph sighed. Even across universes he was still making those same lovey-dovey eyes. It was as adorable as it was annoying. 

Babs smirked. "Oh, I've known about Tim for _quite_ some time." Oh shit. She wouldn't. "In fact, far longer than he's been here." Apparently, she most certainly would. 

Damn it, Barbara. 

"How?" M'gann asked. "I've never heard about Universe travelling before."

"Steph." Babs answered. Except...

Wait...

That was _two_ different voices. 

Well crap. Tim was here. And he knew.

Everyone turned to see Tim standing between Bart and Cassie, an unreadable expression on his face for most of the occupants in the room. 

Not all, but most. 

Because Steph _could_ read his face, even though its been years since she had too. 

And he was looking at her with nothing but hope. 

She'd ignore how her heart skipped a beat for now. She couldn't focus on how seeing him made her feel like a silly teenager in love all over again. No, she couldn't bring back those feelings. 

Especially not now, not after he'd been given a chance to move on. And he no doubt had. She was gone for years, he though she was dead. Steph couldn't blame him if he did move on and fall in love with someone else. (No matter how much it hurt, and no matter how much she wanted nothing more than to kiss him again.) 

"Hehe.. Hey, boy wonder. Long time no see." she said, the definition of awkward. Hopefully nobody payed attention to how her voice cracked when she said his old nickname. 

Tim stepped forward, his arms twitching as if he wanted to hug her, but he held back, obviously decided against it. Steph wasn't sure she wanted to know what mental debate he had to decide whether or not he actually should. 

"Wait, how does... Tim... know Steph?" Jason questioned, pausing before he said Tim's name. 

Steph rubbed the back of her neck. "I um... maybe, might've, possibly... came from the same universe as him?" 

The team looked physically constipated and Steph really had to fight the urge to make them more confused. They'd been through enough already, why add more on?

Okay, well, the obvious answer to that is: why not? 

And now Steph just had to. She couldn't not do it. This was just way to much fun. 

"Oh yeah. Tim is my. Ex? I guess, I died before we broke up, so..." 

Tim face palmed and Steph burst out laughing at the look Babs gave her. 

"You haven't change a bit!" Tim huffed, looking resigned. This was only answered by Steph's laughter. Tim's lip twitched, but he resisted it and instead put on his impassive face. 

This was going to be a _long_ day.


End file.
